“I’ll be there.” His words were as sharp as broken glass.
She nodded and opened the door. Verna swiveled her chair around, but Julia held up her hand in a silent plea.
“You go on then, hon,” Verna said. “It’s none of my business what happened in there.”
Julia got herself out the front door and down the steps before the sobs broke through.
She’d feared his pity, but she hadn’t been prepared for his anger.
Chapter 31
PAUL RAN A yellow light right in front of a town police car. The cop waved and let him pass. Terri had just called to say Eric was in the hospital after some sort of serious accident involving bees. She was on her way from her job, but Paul was closer so he’d volunteered to offer backup to his brother.
Slamming the ’Vette into a parking space, Paul raced through the doors to the emergency room and strode straight to the admittance counter. For once he blessed living in a small town because he knew the woman behind the desk. “Afternoon, Iris. Can you tell me where my nephew, Eric, is?”
She scanned the computer screen. “Room F. Go through those doors, and take a left.” She looked back up. “He’s going to be okay. No anaphylactic shock, no trouble breathing. Dr. Bhattacharya’s treating the bee stings now.”
“Much obliged,” he said, some of his fear draining away.
He walked through the doors and down the corridor, reading the signs beside the doorways. As he approached Room F, Jimmy’s voice carried clearly to his ears. Paul slowed to listen. “I had tweezers in the first-aid kit so I got Lisa to pull the stingers out while I drove here. I told her to clean the welts with the sanitary wipes and put some ice on them.”
“I couldn’t have treated him better myself,” a voice with a faint British accent said. Dr. Bhattacharya.
“I took a first-aid course before we went camping last year,” Jimmy said. “I even bought an EpiPen, but I told Lisa not to use it unless Eric had trouble breathing.”
Paul stopped. Jimmy had studied first aid? This was news to him.
“Has Eric ever had an allergic reaction to bee stings?” the doctor asked.
“Nah, just the usual. But he stirred up a nest this time and got stung pretty bad, so I figured I’d better bring him here.”
“Ow! Sorry, ma’am, but that hurt,” Eric said, and Paul smiled and leaned against the wall, his head cocked. His nephew’s voice sounded strong and slightly irritated.
“My apologies,” Dr. Bhattacharya said, “but I have to count the number of stings, just for our records.”
“There’s about a million,” Eric said. “And they itch.”
Dr. Bhattacharya chuckled. “You’re getting an intravenous antihistamine for that. You’ve already had the epinephrine injection, so I’m going to take you off oxygen. However, we’re going to keep you here at the hospital overnight, just for observation.”
“You mean I can’t go back camping?” Eric’s voice sagged with disappointment.
“We’ll find another weekend to go,” Jimmy said.
The last of Paul’s worry ebbed. If Eric was ready to get back to his tent, he couldn’t be feeling too bad.
The doctor gave a few more instructions and left the room, heading for Paul. He pushed off the wall. “Dr. Bhattacharya, I’m Paul Taggart, Eric’s uncle.”
“Of course,” she said.
“I overheard what you said in there.” He nodded toward the room. “Just tell me what the prognosis is.”
“Eric’s father knew exactly how to treat the stings, so there shouldn’t be any infection. I’m keeping the child overnight because the swelling and discomfort may worsen, and we can handle that better here. If there hadn’t been ‘a million’ stings,” she smiled, “I’d send him home now.”
“That’s a relief.”
The doctor continued past him and Paul ambled into Room F, his brain working furiously to process this new perspective on his brother.
Jimmy jumped up from the chair beside the bed. “Paul! You didn’t have to come.”
“I know. You’ve got this under control.” Paul held his brother’s gaze to let him know he meant it. “But Terri was worried, so I said I’d check in.” He reached out and ruffled his nephew’s hair. “First a skunk and now a swarm of bees. Maybe you should give up camping.”
“No way!” Eric said. Paul winced inwardly as he saw the masses of angry red welts clustered on the boy’s skinny limbs. “I won’t get into bees again because now I know what they sound like.”